Seasons 1-4 are Superior to Seasons 5-8

[Sisophous]

Not sure just why, but I am watching seasons 5 and 6 the past couple of weeks and not enjoying them much. Something is really missing as this series moved on. There are a few interesting episodes on the later years of Magnum P.I. but the performances by all the lead actors seems lethargic and lackluster. Perhaps they aged fast while on set or they just lost interest.

There are some excellent episodes from years 1980-1983 in Seasons 1-4 but this series just falls flat after that. Any thoughts why? Perhaps someone knows the answer because I doubt I am the only one who has mentioned this before.

Also, I can repeatedly watch episodes from 1980-1983 and enjoy them as much as when I first viewed them but Seasons 5 and 6 are just plain bad.

[mikeaz123]

I kind of noticed this too... perhaps it's because the show became routine; most cop/detective shows become dull after a while. Magnum is one of the few shows to have never jumped the shark; it was the same four guys throughout the whole show's run, no precocious kids added to show for comic relief or whatever, and the characters never deviated from their jobs/personalities from the beginning.

[Danno]

I think Season 5 begins well- I've always enjoyed those Sharon-crazy-Stone episodes- but I agree with you guys- Seasons 1-3 remain my favourites.

[Estate resident]

I totally agree w/ ^ that. Although it was no doubt totally shot on the soundstage miles from the Anderson estate THE BIG BLOW is still one of my favorite episodes. Seasons 1-3 were IMO by far the best. By the end of 4 the show was done.

[Danno]

Maybe it's the presence of series creator Donald P. Bellisario as writer (not just 'story').

Season 1: Wrote 7 episodes
Season 2: Wrote 4 episodes
Season 3 Wrote 6 episodes
Season 4: Wrote 1 episode
Season 5: Wrote 4 episodes
Season 6: Wrote 0 episodes!
Season 7: Wrote 0 episodes!
Season 8: Wrote 0 episodes!

[runawayselleck]

I have a theory

When Magnum started to wear glasses, and his moustache became more trimmed, the show started to take itself too seriously-more Miami Vice then Magnum PI. Yes there was some very funny episodes in the later seasons, but for my money there was far too much flag waving and Magnum falling in love every five minutes. I know Magnum was in the Navy and fought in Vietnam but I got bored stiff when Magnum was in court going on about it, or chasing after his wife who was alive one minute and dead the next. They made some excellent episodes with the Vietnam War as the background to the story but I really felt that they shoved it down our necks in later episodes.

The series to me was always at its best with Magnum and Higgins having their arguments. It was funny and well scripted and to be honest I'd have been happy to watch the two of them in some situation comedy!

Oh, Carol for me was a bore. I also think somebody should have dyed her hair! And the stupid idea of having Mac dieing and then bringing him back as someone "Who looks just like him". That was when the show started to jump the shark.

For me Season 1 to 3 were the best. They had it right. Show Magnum bare chested as often as possible, throw in an argument with Higgins every 20 minutes, make sure there are three of four very funny scenes, and make sure the Ferrari is waxed enough for the entire film crew to be reflected in the paint job! Yep, they usually always ticked those boxes!

Right, off to watch Dukes of Hazzard, Season 2.

Runaway Selleck

[ConchRepublican]

And the stupid idea of having Mac dieing and then bringing him back as someone "Who looks just like him". That was when the show started to jump the shark.

Correction - the show never jumped the shark, as confirmed by the actual Jump the Shark website.

I'll take the rest of your comments as sarcasm.

[runawayselleck]

Hang on...Magnum's friend dies, and then an exact lookalike, down to height, weight and looks and voice comes into his life. And that is normal? I don't care if a website says that is not jumping the shark, that to me if flying over the shark with a goofy smile!
Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but it certainly took itself out the realms of realism sometimes.

[308GUY]

Hang on...Magnum's friend dies, and then an exact lookalike, down to height, weight and looks and voice comes into his life. And that is normal? I don't care if a website says that is not jumping the shark, that to me if flying over the shark with a goofy smile!
Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but it certainly took itself out the realms of realism sometimes.

I'm in complete agreement with this. If they were finished with the Mac character, they should have left him gone. This move seemed to fit in better with some of the soap scenario's my wife used to watch. IMO, it reduced the merit of the show. If they wanted to bring Mac back, it should have been only in TM's mind, you know, Mac's "ghost" popping into TM's head in certain situations to "advise" him, or become one of his "little voices", anything but what they did. Again, JMO.

There's no other show in this genre that I like better, but bringing Mac back the way they did just did not fit with what I considered the caliber of the show to be.

I think Danno's observation kind of sums up most of the reason why things seemed to go south after the 4/5 season.

Maybe Bellisario had moved onto other things by then, but being how they still list him in the credits for ALL seasons, maybe he coulda/shoulda played a little more of an active, hands-on role in what made it to the tube.

All subjective opinion, but as far as I know, we are all still allowed to have and voice our own!

Still love the show and will continue to watch all seasons/episodes, (as time permits), but in retrospect, I really wish they had handled that whole situation differently.

[Stelth]

I think of the second Mac as more of a wink to the camera than the jumping of a shark.

[Sisophous]

Maybe it's the presence of series creator Donald P. Bellisario as writer (not just 'story').

Season 1: Wrote 7 episodes
Season 2: Wrote 4 episodes
Season 3 Wrote 6 episodes
Season 4: Wrote 1 episode
Season 5: Wrote 4 episodes
Season 6: Wrote 0 episodes!
Season 7: Wrote 0 episodes!
Season 8: Wrote 0 episodes!

You may have pinpointed it. I always see Donald Bellisario's name in the credits, he is the creator, but this is the first time I see where he was involved as the writer.

And as poster runawayselleck mentions, Magnum P.I., tried to duplicate at times the hit show Miami Vice which began in 1984 and I bet was adopted by the writers with a more serious tone. It seems to have drifted away from what made it appealing, the personalities and interactions among the cast.

Also, the female guest stars in the earlier years, for the most part, were more attractive. The quality of attractive women dropped off a lot after the first few years.

[ConchRepublican]

Also, the female guest stars in the earlier years, for the most part, were more attractive. The quality of attractive women dropped off a lot after the first few years.

Dana Delany? Katherine Lang? Annette Charles? Patrice Martinez?

[Sisophous]

Also, the female guest stars in the earlier years, for the most part, were more attractive. The quality of attractive women dropped off a lot after the first few years.

Dana Delany? Katherine Lang? Annette Charles? Patrice Martinez?

Sure some of them had decent looks but they were also highly annoying. Add Sharon Stone to that list. I skipped Disc 1 recently in Season 5 because I just can't stand Sharon Stone in Echoes of the Mind. Yes, she is attractive but also someone who turns me off. She was even more conceited in the film Basic Instinct.

[ConchRepublican]

This didn't post earlier this AM .....



Should they have made it a dream?

Jeff Mackay left for a bigger role on another Bellisario show Tales of the Gold Monkey. When that show was cancelled they needed a way to bring him back on MPI, I'm sure in part as a thank you for taking the chance on TotGM. The Jim Bonnick character wasn't perfect, but better than making it like Mac never died that night. Add to the fact how he out-Played Magnum in comparison to how Thomas used to play Mac, it was a good injoke.

Also, Jump the Shark infers the show never recovered from that tanking moment whereas MPI had some of it's best episodes ever (as voted by you, the fans!) after Mackay's return.

[Danno]

Also, the female guest stars in the earlier years, for the most part, were more attractive. The quality of attractive women dropped off a lot after the first few years.

Dana Delany? Katherine Lang? Annette Charles? Patrice Martinez?

Sure some of them had decent looks but they were also highly annoying. Add Sharon Stone to that list. I skipped Disc 1 recently in Season 5 because I just can't stand Sharon Stone in Echoes of the Mind. Yes, she is attractive but also someone who turns me off. She was even more conceited in the film Basic Instinct.

I like her though because it's so absurdly over the top, it's funny.

Dana Delany- I think I still have a crush on her.

I don't think Magnum works well in the real world- the concept for the series is ultimately a boys fantasy- once you begin to get too real it begins to become a bore- but I think after so many episodes you don't have much choice before you're repeating yourself, so you delve into the character's history and in some ways this wasn't done so well.

Originally Magnum had an intriguing and tragic backstory which had layers of mystery over it- we only saw pieces of his past- but when we finally meet his family it's like they're a family of accountants dressed in beige- it was so suburban and uninteresting. For me this begins to erode the James Bond in Hawaii concept of Magnum and heads towards a sort of domesticity.